Ebony, Ivory, and Wings
by FlyingBoppers
Summary: I was set free. I didn't know English, and I had never seen grass before. I was a freak that shouldn't exist. No one else was anything like me, but maybe that's why I liked them so much in the first place...
1. Dreaming and Flying

Dark. Dark. Forever Dark. Sometimes I couldn't see at all, and other times only too clearly.

I can only tell you these things because of these events. You may not understand. Before, no one had ever felt the need to teach me words. I knew my own name, 116, I knew what I often sat in was 'box'. I never knew any of this was wrong.

I didn't know names should not be numbers, but things like 'Elizabeth' or 'Annie'. I did not know the words home or freedom, or that I should have these things.

Mentally, I was both a child and an elder, knowing how to move yet not acting on that knowledge, knowing how to make noise and form simple words.

The rest of my vocabulary was no, yes, food, walk, fly, run, brush, bath, bathroom.

I was always dressed in a simple white dress. I'll never know why.

I had seen people before. They gave me hairbrushes and dresses, walked me through blindingly bright hallways. They also called me a freak. It was hard to see that I was a freak though. All of my dresses had solid backs.

I told you my vocabulary included the word fly. That is because those things on my back, covered with feathers and sometimes blood, could do this. The blood occurred when I got distressed. I would pull out feathers before calming down.

I never knew pain wasn't the only way, or that anyone would find it wrong. Those men that watched me fly in a bigger room never said anything about the down that clearly wasn't there anymore.

I had only met one woman. Her hair looked just a little shorter than what mine felt like, and she seemed warmer. I liked her, and spent hours wondering why she dressed differently than everyone else.

She told me it was 1899. She told I was 9 years old; that she wished my name was Faith. She changed my pristine white dress in for a darker one with holes in the back that my wings could stretch through and put boots on my feet. She told me my wings were precious, and then covered them with a jacket, saying that others wouldn't understand.

I didn't understand most of this. I had recognized name and wings. But I heard the emotion loud and clear. She was desperate, anxious, and sad. Yet I worked to memorize each of the seemingly mismatched sounds to decode some other time.

After that, she sent me away, into the sky. I had been on an island. Even though she brought me to the shore, I had to fly farther than I ever had before.

By the time I landed, blinded by wind, not knowing if I would depart over land or water, pain was shooting through the muscles in back. I wasn't used to pain. I didn't recognize the sensation, but I certainly didn't like it.

Landing wasn't normally hard, but not being able to see made it perilous. It was all I could do to get both feet on the ground. I was on land, not water, which I was thankful for. I stumbled after a few steps and fell, too worn out to do anything but sleep exactly where I had landed.

I don't know what decided I should be rescued. What decided I should be a little bit normal. I know that I love that thing.

I found myself being shaken awake. The boy that had done the shaking was saying words I didn't understand, so I focused to the tone it was in, and what he looked like.

He had light brown skin, curly brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He wore a cap on his head, and the rest of his clothes were very simple. The voice he was using was questioning and concerned.

I heard the word name, and by reflex I blurted '116.' He looked at me, puzzled, then repeated his question. Again I heard 'name', and again one-sixteen left my mouth without a thought.

His voice was now skeptical, and my name was in the sentence. All I could do was give a blank look as he spoke in a language I did not know.

Eventually, he figured out I did not speak and tore himself away from me, no doubt assuming I had somewhere to go…or that I had escaped from somewhere.

But I was not ready to let him leave. I followed him, and sat myself not four feet away from where he stood, yelling something. He knew I was there. He glanced at me every now and then. It didn't matter if he knew. I wasn't moving.

I didn't grow bored, as you might think. I had gone through hours in nothingness, and now there was so much. There were people everywhere. Women and men, children. It was as though everyone was in a hurry.

The boy approached me again, hours later. He pointed to himself and said clearly 'Mush'. His name was Mush, and nothing about that seemed wrong to me. I repeated the motion, saying '116'.

He smiled a little bit, and now I was filled with confusion as well.

I liked this boy, though. That's why I followed him in the first place. His face had the warmth that the woman's had, and I had suddenly longed for her back. So I followed him.

He left me again, and the only thing I could think of doing was continuing to follow him. He didn't notice this until he met up with another boy. This one seemed almost warmer, with blond hair and a single blue eye.

This one pointed at me, speaking again in that language I did not understand. Mush turned around, his eyes searching until they landed on my face. His face was shocked, then confused.

Mush and his friend began speaking quickly as they approached me. Mush mentioned my name, and his name. When they reached me, the blond one knelt down, pointed to himself, and clearly stated, 'Blink'. Once again, I found nothing wrong with this being his name. I repeated the motion and said '116'.

Blink picked me up, momentarily confusing me again. At first, my reaction was to fly away, until I remembered that the woman had warned me not to.

So I remained in his arms, wondering if he could feel my wings through my jacket. Mush walked along beside us. They were approaching a large building.

When we reached it, they knocked on the door. A large woman answered, and they all began speaking in those words I'd never heard. Nothing sounded familiar this time.

The woman shook her head and took me from Blink. My only reaction was fear. I didn't know this woman. She was not warm or soft.

Fear made me panic, which automatically made me scream. I screamed as they passed me to this woman, I was terrified.

They looked at me sadly, and walked away.

The woman did not try to speak to me as she carried me through a few hallways, into a room where many other girls sat or slept.

She tried to remove my jacket. More fear, more screams. It was just my normal reactions. She immediately stopped, and left the room.

I didn't get to know the other girls, even though they tried to introduce themselves. I simply lay there, falling asleep on the floor.

The next morning, one of the older girls, named Haley from what I could gather, led me and a few others outside. The other girls talked cheerfully with Haley, ignoring me. I was alright with this though. The city fascinated me.

We walked through Central Park when most of the others began complaining, so they sat down, leaving me to wander where Haley could still see me. Right away, my attention was caught. There was a boy calling out headlines, just like Mush had. From a distance, I could hear his voice but not see his face. His face didn't matter. I knew who he was.

I stopped caring about if Haley could see me, and it wasn't a big concern of mine in the first place. I walked as quickly as I could.

Once I was close enough, I poked him in the back, then simply stood there. He turned around quickly, and shock filled his face when he saw me.

Knowingly and triumphantly, I told him 'Blink.' He nodded and said slowly '116'. I smiled and sat down in the grass next to him.

Blink turned away and began shouting again as I sat there.

After a few minutes of me watching both Blink and the people buying papers from him, Haley ran up, the other girls on her tail.

Haley was shouting at me, relieved. When she reached for me, I screamed shortly. She recoiled, and I grabbed Blink's waist. I felt safer next to him.

Haley directed a question at me, and I answered by pointing at Blink and telling her his name. Haley and Blink began talking. I sat down again, listening to the individual noises they were making.

After about a minute of them speaking, I stood up and grabbed Blink's free hand. I'm not sure why, but it felt right to have my hand in his.

Haley ended up looking defeated, and mentioning the word 'Angel'. I had heard this word before, and it made me perk up. They noticed, but didn't try to ask me about it.

Haley spoke to me quickly, then led the other girls away. Blink stared at me for a long moment, muttered '116', then began shouting again. It wasn't calming to hear him shout, but it wasn't annoying.

I laid there in the grass, loving the feel of it on my arms and legs.

It must have been hours that I just laid there, looking at clouds in the sky and listening to Blink's routine shouts.

Once the sun was beginning to leave, Blink walk over to me and hoisted me over his shoulder. I giggled and he laughed as he walked on.

We were both silent as he walked with me slung over his shoulder, and was getting a bit late. I felt no hunger pangs like someone else might, so I could fall asleep without any issue.

I woke up to louder speaking. There was an older voice as well as Blink's and Mush's. I sat up from where they had set me, the floor, catching their attention.

There was an old man behind a desk looking at me sternly. I didn't like that look, it made me feel small and like I had done something wrong.

Mush pointed at the man, looked at me, and said 'Kloppman', before turning back to his conversation. As a reflex, I pointed to myself and said '116'. Kloppman looked at me oddly, and then also turned back to the boys.

A few others boys were in the room, watching me. The whispers and the stares made me highly uncomfortable and I could feel a bit of panic rise in my chest. So, I did what came naturally.

I carefully reached back into my jacket, feeling my folded wings. I plucked out several pieces of down with a gasp, and set the down on the ground in front of me.

They were looking at me really oddly now. All of them. Mush walked towards me a picked up a bit of the fluff, examining it. He then reaches for my jacket and a short scream leaves my mouth, but he doesn't stop. This equals more fear, which equals more screaming.

But he took off my jacket and saw my wings tucked into my back. Dumbly, he poked one of them and it shot out of my back as a natural defense mechanism to say 'I'm bigger than you! Don't poke me!' Of course, I wasn't bigger than Mush, but it shocked him enough that he pulled away.

I ignored their weird looks as I examined the wings, seeing a few specks of blood on the white feathers. This did not concern me. I pulled my wings back in gently and looked around the room. They stared at me with shock.

Questions were thrown at me and I stared blankly at them all while I pulled my jacket back on. As they al looked at me, still yelling question sat me, I walked over to Blink, jumped onto his back, wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and promptly fell asleep.

My dreams were full of colors that night. Nonsense colors and shapes. Like everything I had seen those past two days distorted and blended.

To anyone else this might be normal. But it was the first night I had dreamed in years.


	2. Staring and Smiling

**Hi! This might be long, but I have to adress something. The Broadway muscial veresion of Newsies. Did you read the article? Why are we excited for this? First off, they are _starting_ our beloved musical with Sante Fe. That is a bit out of order. They are adding in a character, a girl reporter, and who knows what they'll do with her. And you're favorite small characters are likely to be cut. Like Dutchy, Skittery, Swifty, Boots, Tumbler, or Bumlets. And I _like_ my side characters! Very much! Sorry. I'm one of those poeple who read Harry Potter then watched the movies, and was like 'Where's all the good stuff at? Didn't they miss something? Where did that come from?' Yeah, so now that that rant is over with...**

**Thank you Mayarin and bethyhope, my reviewers from last chapter!**

**Here we go...**

I woke up from the senseless shapes, shivering on a hard surface. I didn't like this feeling. It wasn't right at all.

All I could think of doing was walking. Where didn't matter. But I was going somewhere. I felt a bit hungry, and I knew instinctively to give my body something.

I didn't process that the boys had thrown me out. I just wanted comfort.

There was a man selling apples at a stand. I stood and watched him for awhile. He spoke to me, but I did not understand. Eventually he turned away, seeming exasperated.

I took one of the apples and walked off. I'd had one before, so I knew I could eat it. If he saw me, he didn't chase me.

I continued walking, observing the men and woman and children as I bit into my treat repeatedly. I saw the hats with feathers and frills on dresses, comparing them to my own clothes, a dress with minimum frill and a brown jacket. There wasn't anything wrong with my own clothes, even the boots you could see peeking out from under my dress.

All I did was walk. The city was unfamiliar, but I could sense danger after a certain point. I crossed a bridge. This bridge fascinated me. I did not know what it was, or where it would take me, just that I could continue walking through the flow of people.

Everything seemed darker here. The alleys, the buildings, the look in people's eyes. No one's eyes were as bright as Blink's or Mush's. Except for those other boys, shouting like they had been. Holding those curious bundles under their arms.

I found a dock, and I sat there for a while. I stared at the water, transfixed. I remembered this substance. I had flown over it while my back screamed in protest. I had drunk something like this, it had made me feel better, and I hadn't had any for about a day now.

After I finished watching the water, I watched the boys jumping into it. They gave me odd looks, and a few tried to speak to me. Of course, I didn't respond.

Even the boy on the tower came down, asking my name. When I responded, '116', he looked at me curiously, then climbed back up to his seat, watching the others with pride and satisfaction.

Then came people I had seen before. They walked with a purpose. I knew two of them, their faces had watched me the night before. The other was new, but I catalogued him immediately.

The boy on the tower came down and greeted them. The boy with the bandana exchanged a few words with him, as well as the nervous looking one. The smaller boy stayed off to the side, amused.

After a conversation, the nervous looking boy's eyes fell on me. He motioned towards the blond boy, who turned quickly, finding me. I stared at him. The smaller boy seemed most welcoming in his gaze. I found myself getting up and walking towards him, towards someone who looked friendly enough to try to tell me what was happening.

He wasn't much taller than me, closer to my size than many of the people I had seen today. I looked at him curiously, waiting for his name. When I didn't get one, I pointed to myself and whispered '116'. He understood, and gestured to himself, saying 'Boots'. I tried the name on my tongue. When I could finally pronounce it, I grinned and turned to the others.

The blond boy was Jack and the nervous one was David. They pointed out 'Spot' as well. Once I could say their names I nodded to myself before feeling the urge to move once more. So I did what I could think of doing. I ran back, the way I'd come.

I heard Boots laugh and chase me. Jack and David were laughing as well, but only Jack ran after us. David remained behind. I ran for a mile or so before I stopped abruptly, watching Boots skid beside me. I let out a strange noise, my approximation of a laugh. It was really more of a whispered giggle.

We walked the rest of the way. David caught up to us, laughing as he did. I was smiling.

Once they reached their lodging house, I stayed outside. The other boys went in, either not noticing or not caring.

I sat on the step for a while, people watching yet again. That woman has curls the same color as t he dock. That man has eyes the same color as the water. That woman's dress is the same color as the sky.

Boots came out a few minutes later. He asked me a question and I stared blankly.

He sighed and sat down next to me. "Food?" I questioned. I was hungry again, and I knew what fixed that feeling. He stared at me for a while before saying "No." I simply looked back out at the people.

"Walk?" I asked. Once again he looked at me before getting up.

"Yes." We got up and walked together, down some streets and back up them.

"Run?"

"No."

I tried for a better one. "Fly?"

He stopped. I turned quickly to see him walking quickly the other way.

"Fly?" I asked again, following him.

"No!"

I continued to follow him, even into the building this time. As anger steamed on his face, curiosity boiled on mine. Why was he so angry?

Once I was inside, the winds were gone and it was more peaceful. At least weather wise. Boots went up the stairs angrily, and I continued with no hesitation. Upstairs, Another boy approached Boots with a grin on his face, talking so fast the syllables seemed more jumbled than usual. His hair was the same color as that apple I'd eaten.

When the boy noticed me, he froze. So did all the other boys that had noticed me.

I poked Boots in the back, _hard_. When I had his attention, I shot him a questioning look.

"No." He said.

"Yes." I said eagerly, liking it in there.

"No."

"_Yes_."

"Walk."

"Run." I was not about to let him win.

"Walk."

"Fly."

He didn't respond. I walked over to the window and looked up and out, at the clear sky. I yearned for it. I couldn't have it.

"116?" A voice asked after heavy footfalls made their way up stairs.

"Mush." I said happily, running to him. I wrapped my skinny arms around his thick frame. He was still as stone. "Blink?" I asked, looking up at him.

I removed myself from him and sat at his feet. I watched his face as the expressions moved through shock, concern, and thoughtful. It landed on thoughtful and stuck there for a while.

Wishing he would say something I understood, I got up and walked around the room. I passed a door. That room was about to be explored.

It was the washroom. A mirror hung from the wall, not that I knew what it was. As I walked to it, a girl my height approached me. She had blonde hair her eyes were gray. She wore the same outfit I did, but I could only see her face. The rest of her wasn't there.

It was terrifying. I screamed.

I didn't run or move at all. I just stared at the head.

Mush entered the room slowly. He looked at what I was looking at. Immediately, Mush head was there with the girls. I turned to see Mush behind me as well. Suddenly, nothing made sense.

Mush grabbed my hand and brought it to my ear. The girl got a hand put to her ear. She was copying me!

"116." Mush whispered, pointing at the girl. The girl was _me_? Mush traced the outline of the reflective slate saying 'mirror'. Mirrors showed people themselves. Mush lifted me up, so I saw the rest of me too.

My hair reached my knees, it was much longer than other hair I'd seen, and it was tangled and slightly dirty. My eyes reminded me of the time I was shown rain. My eyes were the color of rain. I wasn't that much smaller than Boots or the boy with the apple hair.

When Mush tried to put me down I held onto him with one hand, and took off my jacket with the other. I spread my wings, staring at myself, smiling as I did.

I was an angel.

**Yes, this is set during the strike. No, that wasn't my original plan. **

**Anyway...Review contest because I feel like it!**

**Tell how you feel about the musical. Personally I feel like they will mutilate my beloved story, characters, hot actors, and songs. They haven't released who's playing Spot yet though...**

**Either way, tell me things. Construcitve critism is nice as well. **

**Thank you.**

**Flying Out.**

**Monkey Cerebrum**


End file.
